BHS soccer eyes playoff test tonight

Bartlesville High School’s soccer destiny will have to go through Tulsa.

Bartlesville High School’s soccer destiny will have to go through Tulsa.

That’s where the Bruins will be in action tonight in a do-or-done Class 6A regional playoff opener.

The Bruins are set to take on Tulsa Union — at Union’s homefield — in an 8 p.m. showdown.

The matchup pits the Bruins (10-3) — who finished fourth in District 6A-3 — against the District 6A-4 champion Union Redskins (8-2).

It also will be a clash of top-10 ranked teams. Union reached the No. 4 spot in the final poll, while the Bruins were No. 9.

Bartlesville will be battling to regain the momentum it owned prior to dropping two close matches to finish out the regular season.

Lipscomb expects his seniors — whom he said he knew when they were younger would be a special group — to answer the call tonight.

Win or lose, he is certain they’ll put their best foot forward.

"They’ve been here before," he said regarding facing a grueling playoff test.

Leaving everything on the field is second nature with this group, he added.

As far as the ebb-and-flow of Tulsa Union’s attack, Lipscomb said he has received "a different interpretation," from the coaches with which he’s talked.

"They’ve got a lot of talent, so do we," he added.

He’s looking for his team to come out with the same mentality it played in the season ending loss against Owasso.

"We fought hard," he said. "We just weren’t able to score."

Lipscomb is hoping explosive and wily senior forward Edel Ensaldo will be able to contribute at a higher level as he recovers from an injury that has severely limited his playing time the past few matches.